ECHOES/FANTASIES

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1. IAN SHANAHAN (B.1962): ECHOES/FANTASIES (1984), FOR BASS CLARINET AND

PERCUSSION.
Nigel Westlake bass clarinet / Michael Askill percussion (vibraphone and tubular bells).
Echoes/Fantasies is my first piece in a series of compositions for woodwinds and
percussion instruments. It falls into two contrasting sections, connected by a short linking
passage. The sections themselves are related only by tempo correspondences, an
occasional melodic fragment, and six rhythmic permutations based upon the perfect
number 28 (of which three are used in each section). As the piece progresses, the
complexity of the bass clarinet part develops considerably, in a style somewhat akin to a
free jazz improvisation!
This work exploits extremes of tempo and tension. Echoes/Fantasies begins (and ends) in
a very lively and ecstatic manner, but winds down to a slow, distant and infinitely calm
feel intended to evoke images of certain lonely and remote parts of Australia. The hot,
shimmering sounds of the vibraphone bring forth in my mind visions of Australian
deserts, with mirages of rarefied air rising from their sands, whereas some of the cool
bass clarinet sonorities particularly the breath-sounds remind me of gentle waves
washing sand up onto some deserted beach. Anyway, this halcyon state is maintained for
a while, but is then imperceptibly transformed back into the original manner. The title? It
is a reference to earlier works, but also indicates the structural echoes and flights-of-fancy
involved, as well as the general sound-world and potential extramusical associations of
the piece.
I.S.
2. IAN SHANAHAN (B.1962): SINEBIRDS : FERAL ABACUS (1981), FOR FIXED MEDIA.
In late 1999, whilst rummaging through a cupboard, I came across a long-forgotten-about
tape dating from my early undergraduate student days, of a hitherto untitled, brief
electronic study a somewhat Varsian 1950s-sounding exercise that consists almost
entirely of sine tones subjected to spatial manipulation. It was, I vaguely recall, created
over a period of about thirty minutes using a rather crackly old EMS Putney VCS3 analog
synthesizer, a quaint contraption produced during the 1960s which is now well and truly a
museum piece.
What would I name this electroacoustical trifle, having refamiliarized myself with it? On
the one hand, the sound-world of the piece reminded me of a chorus of surrealistic but
querulous bird-calls (hence SineBirds); yet at the same time, an image of a demented,
out-of-control mechanical calculator inexplicably came into focus (so, Feral Abacus). I
credit Bob Ellis for the colourful expression feral abacus, passed on to me fortuitously by
his son Jack just two days before the tape was to be archived onto CD: this was Elliss
vivid epithet for one of the plethora of desiccated-ideologue economic-(ir)rationalist bean-
counters who front the Right Wing of Australian politics ... those soulless dim-wits who
apparently cannot see anything beyond a balance-sheets bottom line, and who forget that
we live in a society, not just an economy.
SineBirds : Feral Abacus was realized in 1981 under the guidance of Ian Fredericks, at the
Sydney University Experimental Sound Studio in the Music Department of the University
of Sydney.
I.S.

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IAN SHANAHAN (B.1962): FIVE TUDES (19881991), FOR SOLO RECORDER.
Ian Shanahan solo recorder.
3. HELICAL RIBBON (1990), A TERSE TUDE FOR ALTO RECORDER.
4. LINGUA SILENS FLORUM (1991), A GARLAND FOR PREPARED ALTO RECORDER.
5. CATHYS SONG (1988), AN ENCORE PIECE FOR SOPRANINO (OR ALTO) RECORDER.
6. DYSFUNCTIONAL HABAERA (1990), FOR ALTO RECORDER.
7. GRAEME PETRIE, SCALLYWAG (1990), FOR ALTO RECORDER.
These five tudes are unique in my oeuvre: they are all deliberately straightforward (being
composed for adventurous young recorder players), and each concentrates upon a quite
narrow technical region. Helical Ribbon, a multiphonic study in funk, is dedicated to
Warren Burt. Lingua Silens Florum was written for Professor Eric Gross, on his
retirement from the University of Sydney; it requires considerable breath- and
articulatory-control, since the recorders endhole is blocked airtight. Cathys Song is a
compact study in agility and asymmetric rhythm. Dysfunctional Habaera, respectfully
offered to Dulcie Holland, calls for just one fingering-pattern per bar: different pitches are
obtained by regulating air-flow and articulation. Graeme Petrie, scallywag (this
Debussyesque title being a wink at one of my mischievous students) is another simple
exercise in multiphonics rather cheeky and insouciant, exactly like its namesake.
I.S.
8. ROBERT ALLWORTH (B.1943): MOVEMENTS FOR MANDOLIN AND PIANO (1999).
i. Moderato. ii. Mno mosso. iii. Poco mno mosso. iv. Vivo.
Michael Hooper mandolin / Danielle Perini piano.
My composition Movements for Mandolin and Piano was completed on 15 August 1999
the Feast Day of the Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary. This piece explores various
rhythmic motives as well as the timbral possibilities of the mandolin (with piano
accompaniment).
R.A.
9. ANN CARR-BOYD (B.1938): FANDANGO (1982), FOR TWO MANDOLINS, MANDOLA, GUITAR
AND BASS GUITAR.
New version, arranged by Adrian Hooper, for The Sydney Mandolins Quintet (1999).
Adrian Hooper and Paul Hooper mandolins / Joyce Bootsma mandola / Barbara Hooper
guitar / Michael Hooper bass guitar.
Fandango was commissioned by Adrian Hooper, director of The Sydney Mandolins; it is
my second work for this group. Their 1982 ABC recording of Fandango has been released
on several Jade CDs; its acclaim is largely due to producer Robert Allworths initial
enthusiasm. Adrians arrangement of Fandango here heightens its clarity.
A.C-B.
10. DULCIE HOLLAND (B.1913): BALLAD FOR CLARINET AND PIANO (1952).
Clive Amadio clarinet / Olga Krasnik piano.
I wrote this one-movement Ballad especially for Clive Amadio. It is a ballad without
words and listeners, should they so wish, could easily fit their own stories to its changing
moods. The music has a nautical flavour and the programme might simply be that of the
capricious sea: calm, turbulent, and at peace again.
D.H.

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DULCIE HOLLAND (B.1913): THREE TREE SONGS (1991), FOR TENOR AND PIANO.
David Hamilton tenor voice / Nigel Butterley piano.
My Three Tree Songs are settings of poems by Andrew Lansdown from his 1991
anthology The Grasshopper Heart. These songs were performed at the Sydney Festival in
January 1993, during a concert given in my honour to mark my 80th birthday; the
performers then were the same as those that feature on this recording.
D.H.
11. WILLOW
The willow is a fisherman, / and highly successful at that. / I refer not to the rods / it rests towards the river
/ in winter, but to the strings / of fish it shoulders in summer. / The tree teems with fish / small, green
minnows strung / by their heads, dangling / one below the other, some / twisting in the dry breeze.

12. TREE FERN

The tree-fern is an orchestra / playing a pastorale. Glorious / the meticulous melodies, the green /
movements. On centre stage / the soloist lifts his violin / light on the line of the neck, / the tuning pegs, the
perfect / carved curlpoised to begin.

13. PINES
These pines, or the seeds of their parents, / were imported from America. / Planted in Australia, they are
perturbed / by memories of the Northern Hemisphere. // See that tree, for instancethe tuft / of dead
needles caught in the crook / of branch and trunk. It is the throat-tassel / of a moosethe bell of a big bull.
// Look. Many trees have grown beards. / The uppermost branches of some are bare / all bone and
peeling velvet. / They are restless in the rough wind. // Listen. Farther off in the forest, / the clash of
antlers!

ERIC GROSS (B.1926): SUITE FOR TROMBONE QUARTET, OP.221 (1997).

Brendan Collins, Will Farmer, Greg van der Struik and Damian Butler trombones.
14. INTRODUCTION
15. PHANTASY
16. TROMBONE LULLABY
17. TROMBONE FANFARE
I composed this Suite for the prominent Dutch trombonist Jeroen Drenth; it was recorded
by the Trombones of the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra during October 1998. The
complete work comprises four separate movements, but each one may be performed as a
separate concert item if desired. I have endeavoured to utilize the sonorities and dynamic
contrasts which can be created by an ensemble of outstanding trombonists wherein each
voice is of equal importance. Introduction uses an initial quaver-phrase, based upon 4ths,
which is stated by various members of the quartet but is eventually replaced by passages
where the emphasis is on harmony and rhythm (so as to emphasize and confirm a light-
hearted, scherzo-like atmosphere). Phantasy makes use of passages for solo instruments in
imitative, fugato style and texture, as well as displaying a number of dynamic and playful
climaxes. Trombone Lullaby is designed to produce a relaxed and sleepy ambience,
whereas Trombone Fanfare brings the Suite to a bombastic conclusion, with the players
raising the bells of their trombones at the very end.
E.G.
18. LAWRENCE BARTLETT (B.1933): JOLLY OCTOPUS (1990), FOR SOLO PIANO.
Lawrence Bartlett piano.
It was show and tell time at the local Infants School, and a shy little girl produced an
octopus preserved in a jar. I was so amused at this incongruous sight that I thought of an

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eight-note theme to honour the legs of the defunct creature, and so the piece began.
L.B.
19. DEREK STRAHAN (B.1935): CHINA SPRING (1989), FOR CELLO AND PIANO.
Georg Pedersen cello / David Miller piano. World Premire Performance
China Spring was commissioned by Georg Pedersen, with financial assistance from the
Australia Council. It commemorates the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 4 June 1989, the
title China Spring being the name of an American journal. On one level, the work is a
musical depiction of the events leading up to the incident; on another, it adapts a familiar
device, the battle of anthems to denote competing allegiances. Five themes are used, two
original and three anthems: the Mao theme The East is Red is set against LInternationale,
which students sang in the Square to keep up their courage; and The Star-Spangled
Banner, strangely harmonised, is heard, epitomising the statue of Lady Liberty which
students erected in the Square. This inflammatory symbol of individual freedom was
eventually toppled by a tank an enduring media image. In one passage, the three
anthems are heard simultaneously, each in a different key. China Spring opens with an
original jazzy theme, which may be taken as an evocation of youth. A second original
theme emerges in counterpoint to LInternationale but, as the work ends, is heard
standing alone representing the eternal spring of hope. My thanks to Georg Pedersen
and David Miller for applying their virtuosic talents to this piece, and for giving such an
incendiary premire, heard in this recording.
D.S.
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TRACKS 1 & 2 Track 1 recorded 16/6/85 live during an ISCM concert held at the Sydney
Opera House; analog master. Track 2 recorded in 1981 at SUESS, the University of Sydney;
analog master. Digital Denoising Adrian Luca, UWS (Nepean), Kingswood, 21/12/99.
TRACKS 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 Tracks 3 & 5 recorded 21/6/90 and Track 4 recorded 27/11/91, at
EMI Studios 301, Sydney. Producer Robert Allworth; Sound Engineer Martin Benge.
Tracks 6 & 7 recorded 15/2/99 at UWS (Nepean), Kingswood. Producer Ian Shanahan;
Sound Engineer Adrian Luca.
TRACKS 8 & 9 2MBS-FM production, recorded 4/2/00 at 2MBS-FM Studio C. Sound
Engineer Kerry Joyner.
TRACKS 10, 11, 12 & 13 Track 10 recorded in 1955 at EMI; analog master. Tracks 11, 12 &
13 recorded 10/2/92 at the ABC (Studio 227), Ultimo. Producer Judith Irvine; Sound
Engineers Wayne Chapman and Colin Preston.
TRACKS 14, 15, 16 & 17 Recorded 6/10/98 in Sydney and edited at Proffi Studios,
Sydney. Sound Engineer Glen Ferguson.
TRACK 18 Recorded 1/7/92, at EMI Studios 301, Sydney. Producer Robert Allworth;
Sound Engineer Martin Benge.
TRACK 19 Recorded 12/12/91 live during a concert to aid Amnesty International held at
the Joseph Post Auditorium, Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Digital Editing Bob Scott.
Programme Notes compiled and edited by Ian Shanahan. CD Jacket: Handpress Graphics Ph. (02)
9918 7254 Fx. (02) 9918 5271.
Cover Photograph (Shoalhaven Beach, NSW) by Ann Carr-Boyd.
Echoes/Fantasies is the 72nd CD in the Jade Series of Australian Composers.

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